waiting for something to grow? waiting for a baby to arrive? No to both

is this a thing which occurs all the time? in nature? It doesn't happen in nature, but I guess it is a somewhat common thing that most people will experience at least once during a life time (not necessarily the EXACT same thing, but similar)

is there anything anyone can do to speed it up? Speed it up as in making it go quicker than estimated? If so, not really. As in trying to NOT make it take longer than estimated? Well, yes, I guess that would be possible

did a particular person estimate how long it would take? Yes, me or is this the standard length of time? 'It' will never have a standard lenght of time, depends on circumstances every time.

does it seem to take longer because someone is anxious for it to happen? or to be over? No to both

does just one person think it's taking longer than estimated? or a bunch of people? or everyone? It's only relevant for the person making the calculations - me. And it's not something I think, it will take longer.

Did you perform the action-ish alone? I am the only one involved, but under different cicumstances more than one could be involved. In that case it would have taken less time. Did the action-ish happen to you? Is it a bodily function? Or "function-ish"? No to rest.

Redwine (Redwine)

Is health relevant? School? Construction works? Communication? No to all

Shez (Shez)

was it to do with repeating Yes, something is repeated it until it was right? but this isn't it eg a performance which gets better each time? No

is the thing something like a big project where a lot of things have to come together at the right time and in the right order to reach completion? and would some of this involve waiting for other people to do their part?

like buying a house? moving house? organising a wedding? putting on a show?

Can one influence its duration? In a way you can, but I cannot see how once it has started, except for making it longer (like I have done) Or one just have to wait until it happens? No, that’s not it.

Shez (Shez)

is the thing something like a big project where a lot of things have to come together at the right time and in the right order to reach completion? Not this, even though some might consider it a ‘project’ of sorts and would some of this involve waiting for other people to do their part? Nope

like buying a house? moving house? organising a wedding? putting on a show? None of these, but buying something is relevant.

I made calculations for how long a certain thing was going to take, but forgot to consider some important aspects of it. A purchase is relevant for this puzzle. And to clear up the FA in Balin's last set of questions - I only buy once, not on several occasions. But there is something, maybe best described as a consept(?), that applies to this situation.

Even though this 'concept' could apply to several situations involving a purchase, it might help you if you determine what I bought.

the thing you bought - man-made? Yes electric? Yes some other form of power? so No

tangible? Yupp

household item? Yes building materials? artist's materials? stationery? food? The item itself is not food, but food is sort of relevant software? No to rest

is it a consumable item ie you use it once or a certai number of times and then it's finished? No or is it somethig you can use indefinitely? Indefinitely is probably not the right word, but I can't 'use up' the item. It does have a certain life span though.

Were you calculating how long until you had enough money to buy an espresso maker? Not this or how long it would take to make up the cost of an espresso maker, given how much you saved on buying espresso? This is spot on! I calculated how long it would take before I had saved the amount I used to pay for the espresso maker buy not buying my daily coffee on my way to the office. So what was wrong with my calculations?

Was the cost different if they ground the beans than if you ground them? Nope, the price is the same whether they do it or I.

Vesica (Vesica)

Did you forget the price for the coffee filter? NoDo espresso machines have reusable ones? No, they don't have filters as such, just a metal 'cup' with a handle you fill with coffee and attach to the machineThat you need to buy separately? So no

Specific types of coffee beans relevant? Different roasts? Both of these are somewhat relevant-ish. Not down to exact type of beans etc. But there is something related to various beans, roasts, etc, that played a part in my miscalculation.

is the blend you like more expensive than the one you had used in your calculation? OTRT again. The spesific price of an individual pack of coffee is not relevant. But I did use more money on coffee than expected. A quick recap to follow.

I love coffee and since I live alone I looked into buying an espresso maker, as you can make single cups of coffee with those.

While looking through the options (some very expensive I have to say) I found a small one, perfectly fitting my little kitchen, capable of making one or two cups of espresso at a time. And it also had a steamer so I could make cappucinos and lattes.

The price was €80. While it is not terrifyingly expensive, it is around a week of groceries for me. So I thought that if I cut out the cappucino I bought every morning on my way in to work, which is €2.50. After a couple of months I would have saved €100, so the machine would then av been paid back, even considering the extra coffee I would use by making my morning coffee myself and the little electricity the machine would use.

I did not miscalculate any of these things, and I did stop buying a coffee on my way in to work.

However, I forgot to consider something important, something I guess I should have known. It is related to types of coffee, roasts, different tastes, etc.

Did the espresso maker only work with a certain type of coffee been? No, I made sure that I bought one that could use a range of different beans, not those with pods or similar.

Shez (Shez)

did you like it so much that you started drinking a lot more coffee and so spent more on coffee beans? YES! Spot on.

***************SPOILER**************** When I bought my espresso maker, carefully calculating how long it would take me to 'pay' it back by not buying my morning cappucino, I didn't anticipate I would use quite a bit more than I thought on coffee beans as I wanted to try a lot of different types, tastes and roasts. And ended up drinking more coffee than before in the evenings and weekends.

I'll look for Peet's here to see if I can find it and try it out. At the moment I have totally fallen for an Ethiopian blend from Starbucks. But I've tried, and loved, the Insomnia house blend and a couple of Fairtrade varieties from my local farmers' market. At one stage I think I had three different packs opened on my kitchen counter, felt like a kid in a sweet shop, lol